Golfer Jordan Spieth suffered an epic meltdown over the weekend at the Masters in Augusta, Ga. that some are calling the most shocking in the sport’s history. A day later, sponsor Under Armour’s stock slid around 5%. So investors are fretting the news, right?
If you believe that logic, you just whiffed.
It would be easy to connect the two events: A big, rising star athlete runs into trouble, potentially hurting the brand equity of the athletic gear maker that sponsors him (or her). Under Armour’s (UA) ability to sell gear that’s branded around a well-known athlete can certainly be helped by a stellar performance. In fact, when Spieth won the U.S. Open last summer, Fortunenoted it was an important win for the brand.
But a loss isn’t what is weighing on the stock. In fact, the real reason is a bit more quotidian. Morgan Stanley analyst Jay Sole, who covers Under Armour, issued a bearish report over the weekend saying he was worried about slowing demand for women’s apparel and soft demand for running shoes. He maintained a “sell” rating on the stock. Under Armour’s first-quarter results are due on April 21.
So blame a Wall Street analyst, not Spieth, for the recent softness in Under Armour’s shares today. “Golf remains a tiny business for UA. I do not expect a material impact to UA business from one event,” said Matt Powell, sports industry analyst at The NPD Group in an e-mail to Fortune.
Spieth can find some comfort he is receiving from not his fans, but also his sponsor, which sent out the following tweet.
"Jordan is a young man who will learn from this experience and there will be good that comes out of this for him" @jacknicklaus
We agree.
— Under Armour Golf (@UAGolf) April 11, 2016
The news was also heartbreaking to fellow Under Armour athlete, NBA star Stephen Curry, who looked pretty upset after learning about Spieth’s collapse.
